Thursday, June 20, 2013

Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world's most elite training facility. In this pressure-cooker environment, futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.

Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she's hell-bent on extending her family’s legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after...until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She’s thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.

With so much at stake, dreams—and hearts—are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.

My Thoughts:

Where do I start with this book? How about simply—I LOVE It!

If you are looking for a great summer read, I would like to highly recommend this book to you. If you like a great romance story, then this has it for you. If you like a sports story that is easy to read whether or not you have ever held a tennis rack--then I would nominate this title. If you are looking for something to escape with for a few moments, then this might just be your ticket to leave on a trip. Whatever reason you are looking for to pick up a book, than Game. Set. Match has a good chance of fulfilling it.

The characters are fantastic and different from each other. The three main girls, Indy, Penny and Jasmine are at different points in their lives and careers and each handles it differently. Penny is the new darling of tennis. Indy is the one to be looking out for now that she is pursuing her dream and Jasmine is at a point where she has to make a change in order to keep playing. The first book in the series explores as each of these ladies take on tennis—and the guys of OBX.

The guys: Alex aka the comeback tennis star; Jack aka the agent and brother to Penny; Teddy aka the “normal Harrison,” Penny’s twin and complete ladies man are the love interests, liven things up in this book and keep it moving. Alex and Penny have a past and now they are trying to figure out if they can be together. Indy just wants Jack to admit he feels their undeniable chemistry while poor Jasmine wants her best friend to finally move her out of the friend column and into the girlfriend column. I am looking forward to the second book to see how all these relationships progress. No matter who is your favorite player, couple, guy or gal, there will be a character that you will want to support.

The story moves along quickly and does not get held up by too much description of the tennis matches or practices—I personally found it intriguing. I am not an expert in tennis so I cannot speak to the authenticity of the technically aspects of tennis. All I know is that the characters latched into me and stayed with me after I put down the book. My only thing I would change about it? It ended way too soon! I am looking forward to the second book in this series, which I hope will be out by the end of the summer!***If you are interested in WINNING a copy of Game. Set. Match, then be sure to sign up for Summer Lovin' Read-a-Thon I am cohosting the week of July 1st!! By participating in the Bingo Challenge, you will have a chance to win it!!! How cool is that?! Thank you Coliloquy for providing us with a copy!!